Men's basketball: CU Buffs' Roberson felt pro level would be best for development

Junior announced he is leaving for NBA on Sunday

By Brian Howell Buffzone.com

Posted:
04/30/2013 11:01:19 PM MDT

Colorado Stanford NCAA Men214.JPG Andre Roberson of Colorado goes o the basket past Josh Huestis of Stanford during the second half of the January 24th, 2013 game in Boulder.
For more photos of the game, go to www.dailycamera.com.
Cliff Grassmick / January 24, 2013
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CLIFF GRASSMICK
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For days and weeks, Andre Roberson wrestled with the biggest decision of his life.

Ultimately, the Colorado basketball star concluded that he could develop his game better next year at the pro level than he could in Boulder.

Roberson announced on Sunday that he will forego his senior season at CU and enter the NBA Draft. Other than a brief statement released by the school on Sunday, Roberson has not spoken publicly about his decision, but his father, John, explained on Tuesday night the reasoning behind his son's choice.

"I guess when it comes down to it, it's about what's best for Andre," John said. "I think the development was the main thing he was looking at."

As a junior last season, Andre finished second in the country in rebounding (11.2 boards per game), while posting 10.9 points a contest. He was also named the Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

With great instincts as a rebounder -- his 1,045 career rebounds left him just nine shy of Stephane Pelle's all-time CU record -- and a 7-foot wingspan, Roberson often caused match-up problems at power forward.

Andre is projected as a small forward in the NBA, however, and would likely not have had the opportunity to develop skills at that position at CU.

"I think it would be really hard (at CU) for him to develop at the three spot (small forward), just considering the impact that he has as a four and the mismatches he has against bigger players," John said.

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John also acknowledged that Andre has to develop more on offense, but said that would have been tough to do at CU, as well. With so many scoring options at CU, including guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Askia Booker, the opportunities to take shots would have been limited, both in practices and in games.

As a professional, however, Andre will have the time to "work on it every single day," John said.

While development was perhaps the biggest factor in Andre's decision, draft positioning played a role, too. Andre is projected as a mid to late-second round pick this year, but the 2014 draft is expected to be even deeper.

Given the fact that Andre is not projected as a first-round pick, the decision to leave is a bit of a gamble. Second-round picks are not given automatic guaranteed contracts, and it's possible Andre won't get drafted at all.

The potential reward, however, outweighed the risk, as far as the Robersons were concerned.

"You can look at it as a risk, but it could be a risk for him coming back to Colorado next year," John said. "I know he was torn between both. I would have liked to see him go back to school, but I can also see the other side."

John said that while he helped Andre figure out the pros and cons, Andre made the final decision. It is a decision, however, that the entire family is excited about.

"Yeah, we're feeling pretty good about it," John said.

John added that Andre will finish out the semester, which ends with finals next week. He said Andre will wait until after finals to go through the process of finding an agent and figuring out where to do his training in preparation for the draft, which will be held on June 27.

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